Your South Shore Holiday Go Guide

Thursday

Nov 16, 2017 at 12:42 PMNov 20, 2017 at 10:35 AM

Celebrate the spirit of the season with South Shore parades and performances.

By Dana Barbuto/The Patriot Ledger

Avoid the holiday hustle in the big city with an abundance of festive choices right here on the South Shore, including four locally produced “Nutcracker” performances, Polar Express-themed train rides, holiday pops concerts and classic Christmas song and stage productions.

Sugar plums and pirouettes

This year, you can get your fill of sugar plum fairies and magical princes with several local productions of “The Nutcracker.”

Drosselmeyer, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the other dedicated students from the International Ballet Academy of Norwell have been practicing their pirouettes in preparation for three magical shows Dec. 2-3 at Hingham Middle School and Dec. 9 at Groton-Dunstable Performing Arts Center. 339-788-9670; ibanorwell.org.

Students from the South Shore Ballet Theater in Hanover dance to Tchaikovsky’s magical score Dec. 16-17 at the Center for the Arts at Thayer Academy, Braintree. 781-312-7224, southshoreballettheatre.com

It’s a full-length production from the young ballerinas at the Dance Workshop of Hanover; performances Dec. 16-17 at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. 781-829-0390, danceworkshopofhanover.com.

Curtain up for Christmas

Billed as an “original theatrical spectacular,” the new stage show “Company for the Holidays” premieres Nov. 24 at The Company Theatre, Norwell. Co-directed by Zoe Bradford and Jordie Saucerman, with music direction and several original arrangements by Steve Bass and choreography by Sally Ashton, the three-part show boasts an original one-act local comedy, “A Child’s Christmas in Bahston,” by Company Theatre Artistic Director Zoe Bradford. Set in the 1980’s, a man recollects when his Cohasset family spent a very memorable Christmas Eve with relatives in Revere. The talented local troupe will also spread holiday cheer with a gospel-style Nativity and nostalgic holiday music such as “Santa Baby” and “White Christmas.” Performances run through Dec. 17. companytheatre.com.

Tiny Tim and Scrooge return to the Art Complex in Duxbury as puppets for a production from the Puppet People for two free shows on Nov. 26. artcomplex.org.

The Americana Theatre Company will present “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” as its holiday production. Performances will be Dec. 6-16 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts. americanatheatre.org.

A small-town banker ponders his life, its meaning and its absence in the fantasy “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Canton Community Theater presents its stage adaptation of the 1946 classic film Dec. 8-17, at the Village Shoppes at Cobbs Corner, Canton. cantoncommunitytheatre.org.

The Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” is a timeless tale that South Shore actor Neil McGarry turns on its head with a one-man performance. In the popular local show, McGarry performs all of the characters in this Victorian masterpiece. The show runs Dec. 16 at Curtain Call Theater, Braintree, and Dec. 22 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts. curtaincallbraintree.org.

If you like your Christmas filled with sass and class, then check out the all-female band Happy Holidays with the Divas at the Company Theatre, Norwell, Dec. 19. companytheatre.com.

It’s an evening of holiday favorites when the Quincy Symphony Orchestra presents its annual “’Tis the Season,” featuring performances by the John Adams Orchestra and the Quincy High School Combined Choral Group, Dec. 11 at Quincy High School, Lloyd Hill Performing Arts Center. quincysymphonyorchestra.org.

Conductor Emilian Badea leads the Brockton Symphony Orchestra in joyous music from around the world at “Holiday Pops,” Dec. 17 at Brockton High School. brocktonsymphony.org.

Santa and sing-alongs

“We Wish You Joy” is the title of the Snug Harbor Community Chorus’ holiday concert, Dec. 2 at the Duxbury Performing Arts Center and Dec. 4 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Hanover. The concert will feature more than 60 singers from across the region and will feature seasonal favorites, including an audience sing-along. snugharborcc.org.

Pilgrim Festival Chorus will present its holiday season concert, “A Hometown Christmas,” Dec. 2-3 at St. Bonaventure Parish in Plymouth. Music director William B. Richter will lead the chorus in favorite carols and seasonal music drawn from previous winter concert programs, set in three sections: Anticipation, Night of Wonder and Christmas. pilgrimfestivalchorus.org.

The Choral Art Society of the South Shore will perform Christmas songs for the whole family Dec. 3 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scituate. choralartsociety.org.

Hear the angelic voices of the South Shore Conservatory’s Youth Chorus on Dec. 3 at the Ellison Center for the Arts, Duxbury. sscmusic.org.

Broad Cove Choral/Unicorn Singers will perform a holiday concert titled “Follow the Star,” Dec. 9 at the House of Prayer in Hingham. A second performance is scheduled for Dec. 10 at First Parish Church, Cohasset. A benefit for the Wellspring Multi-Service Center, the concert will explore in story and song the composers, poets, philosophers and scientists who have pondered the enduring power and meaning of the light that shone on Bethlehem. bcc-us.org.

Christmas carols and festive holiday music will be sung by the Neponset Choral Society in “Celebrate the Season,” Dec. 9-10 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Foxboro. ncschorus.org.

Christmas hymns and songs from around the world, such as “Carol of the Bells,” “Gesu Bambino,” “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” and “Joy to the World” will be performed when the Southeastern Mass Festival Choir presents its annual Christmas concert “All Nations Rise,” Dec. 9-10 at Taunton High School Auditorium. smfconline.org.

Quincy Choral Society sings its annual Holiday Concert, featuring holiday carols, Dec. 10 at St. Mary of the Hills Church in Milton. quincychoral.org.

Pachelbel, a Christmas cantata and traditional music of the season are on the docket for the Braintree Choral Society’s 94th Winter Concert, titled “Sparkle, Shimmer and Shine,” Dec. 10 at First Congregational Church of Braintree. braintreechoralsociety.weebly.com.

Faculty from the South Shore Conservatory will perform Holiday Favorites in concert, Dec. 10 at Derby Academy, 56 Burditt St., Hingham. The concert is a showcase of the conservatory’s faculty of educator-performers and will feature classical and musical theater holiday favorites. The concert is free and open to the public. sscmusic.org.

South Shore Community Voices Too!, the South Shore Conservatory’s chorus for adults with developmental delays, sings its winter concert Dec. 13 at the Ellison Center for the Arts, Duxbury. scmusic.org.

Pilgrim Festival Chorus will present its eighth annual Messiah and Carol Sing-along Dec. 15 at First Congregational Church, Middleboro. Music director William B. Richter will lead the audience in carols and the familiar choruses from Part I of Handel’s Messiah, concluding with the Hallelujah Chorus. pilgrimfestivalchorus.org.

Local favorites

Kick off the holiday season where it all started in Plymouth at America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration with a parade Nov. 18. The parade steps off at 11 a.m. from 179 Court St.

Quincy’s Christmas Celebration is a longtime South Shore tradition. Tree lighting is at 6 p.m. Nov. 24. Santa Claus and his elves parachute into Pageant Field at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 25. The 65th annual parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 26. This year’s theme is “The legend of Christmas in story and song.”

You know the holiday season is here when the Enchanted Village opens. It’s a vintage collection of New England and Christmas scenes that Jordan’s Furniture saved (and then refurbished) when it was auctioned six years ago. Jordan’s Furniture in Avon, Nov. 18 to Jan. 1.

The night shines at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, where displays of 300,000 lights spread over 10 acres tell the story of Christmas. The free illuminations are open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily Nov. 23 to Jan. 1.

The historical King Caesar House on Powder Point in Duxbury will be dressed to impress for its annual Christmas tours, Dec. 9-10 for public tours, including a reservations-required candelight tour and Dec. 11-12 private group tours. This year’s theme is “An Island Holiday.”

Duxbury’s 13th annual Holly Days event is Nov. 26, with trolley rides, a visit from Santa, hay rides, refreshments, a puppet show and plenty of holiday shopping.

A stroll through the magical Gardens Aglow at the Heritage Museum & Gardens in Sandwich will add some extra twinkle and sparkle to your holidays. Opens Nov. 24 and runs each Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening through Dec. 17 and then Dec. 22 and Dec. 29-30.

Edaville USA will host the Christmas Festival of Lights through Jan. 1. More than 17 million lights will illuminate the park’s attractions.

The Scituate Community of Resources for Special Education Foundation will hold the 10th annual “Scituate North Pole Express” on Dec. 10. There will be a reading of Chris Van Allsburg’s “The Polar Express,” treats, greetings and gifts from Santa and his elves. Rides take place at 9:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:40 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. scituatechamber.org.

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.